Derbyshire County Council has decided to go ahead with plans for a dedicated walking and cycling route for Chesterfield- which will run from the east side of the town, up to the Royal Hospital.

The decision means Crow Lane in Chesterfield will close permanently to vehicles, while a cycle lane will be built on Chatsworth Road. The current 30mph speed limit on Chatsworth Road will also be extended.

These decisions were taken by the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal on 9 November and follow a public consultation.

Work will start on some sections of the route this autumn. Crow Lane will close permanently at some point in the new year, once work to create a cycle and walking route from the station to the start of the closed Crow Lane section has taken place.

The Government has awarded Derbyshire County Council £1.68 million to create the new route. It will go from the A619 junction with Holymoor Road, along Chatsworth Road and the existing Hipper Valley Trail, through Queen’s Park, past the train station and to the hospital and beyond by using Crow Lane and Wetlands Lane.

Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal said: “We have listened carefully to what people told us in the consultation and looked at all the alternatives given. “Creating this route across Chesterfield will give many more people the opportunity to get out of their cars, and either walk or cycle to get into town, or up to the hospital.

“We know that many hospital staff walked or cycled on Crow Lane at the height of the pandemic, and we would expect numbers to increase when the lane closes to vehicles again for good.”

In total 1,240 people responded to the consultation, which was widely publicised.

For the Crow Lane closure, 752 people supported this with 416 people objecting. 980 people supported the 30mph extension on Chatsworth Road, with 178 objections. For the cycle lane on Chatsworth Road 741 people supported this, with 430 objecting.

The council also received two petitions, one supporting the closure of Crow Lane, with 522 signatures, and one against the closure with 744 signatures.

In total, adding together the results of the consultation and the results of the petition, there were more people wanting Crow Lane to close permanently than not (738 for (51%), 638 against (44%) 72 abstaining (5%)).